Difference Between vCard 2.1, 3.0, and 4.0 Versions
vCard versions vary in structure and feature support, affecting compatibility between tools and devices. Version 2.1 is the earliest, commonly used by older phones and basic software. It supports essential fields but lacks advanced encoding flexibility. Version 3.0 improves formatting and introduces better support for modern data types such as web links and structured names. It is widely used in Google Contacts and email clients. Version 4.0 offers the highest accuracy and includes improved UTF-8 encoding, social profile fields, and enhanced metadata handling. Many modern systems, including iCloud, rely on this version. Understanding version differences is essential when splitting, importing, or converting VCF files to maintain full data integrity during contact processing.
